Sky Ghosts: The Night Before (Urban Fantasy series for adults) Read online

hand.

  Without thinking, she threw the knife at him, pinning his hand to the phone. He let out a startled scream, staring at his wounded hand, and quickly pulled the knife out.

  "Put the sword down, and I'll give you a nice quick death," she said, casting a glance at the katana. His big, fat hand gripped it in a way that made her nauseous, and the leather straps brushed the ground as he moved.

  He turned to her with a wild look, dropping the phone to the ground. "A nice death? You need help, girl."

  "I mean it, Blinky. I'm the only one who touches that sword." She circled him slowly, taking a position away from the pipes and poles.

  He gave a sudden smirk, which somehow made him even uglier. His right hand raised the katana, while the left one hovered over the long hilt. The way he wasn't afraid to use it so soon suggested he was a good healer, something she didn't see often in undisciplined thugs like him.

  "The whole city is scared of you and this blade," he muttered thoughtfully. "How ironic would it be if I killed you with your own sword."

  "Almost as ironic as if you tried and failed."

  He scoffed, holding her gaze as he grasped the hilt of the sword. A shadow of pain crossed his face for a second, but he held the katana tight, along with the heavy sheath. She grimaced at all the blood he had smeared on the hilt.

  "Oh, Jesus! What are you, five? Next, you're gonna spit in my coffee?"

  "Doesn't matter. I think I'll keep the sword." He tried to pull it out of the sheath, but the sword didn't move. The Beast turned his confused look to her.

  "How's that working out for you so far?" She smirked. "Gotta love modern tech."

  He didn't seem to appreciate the joke, scowling at her with his nostrils flaring angrily.

  "Put the sword down, and let's solve this like adults, hand-to-hand," she suggested.

  The man's eye glittered when he heard her words, probably thinking she didn't stand a chance, with him being almost a foot taller and ten times as strong. Silently, he stepped to a short, square construction on the roof to put down the sword.

  "Not a scratch," she muttered, watching him do it, then tossed the knife to the ground.

  They began to circle each other, eyes on the opponent's every move, trying to ready themselves for what was coming. She took her time, warming up in the night breeze, wearing out his patience.

  "You gonna fight or dance around all night?"

  "I'm waiting," she said with a playful smile, not pausing her circling.

  "For what?"

  "For you to lose focus."

  She lunged forward, kicking him in the head so that he staggered a few steps back before regaining a straight posture. She gave him time to shake his head and resume the circling, knowing that one blow was not enough to take down someone like him. He stood just an inch taller than Marco, and even though he wasn't as broad, going full contact would mean death for her.

  "You all think hand-to-hand with a girl is a joke," she tried to distract him.

  "It is a joke."

  She ducked away from his jab and parried his hook, angling her body so that his forearm slid right off her. He wasn't nearly as fast as Marco had become in the five years of their training.

  "You've seen my friend," she said, jumping back when he caught her off-guard with a tricky blow. "He's down there butchering your people right now. Did he look like a joke to you? Or do you think I train with midgets and fairies?"

  "I think you talk too much to have time for training." He lunged at her, grabbing her jacket when she dropped her defense for a moment, only to get headbutted by her and back off.

  She laughed, ignoring the dull pain in her skull, knowing it would make him even angrier. It seemed like no man ever expected a girl to headbutt him in a fight, and she never failed to use it to her advantage. "One eye and a broken nose? Just let me kill you. It'll be a mercy."

  As revolting as it was, her petty bullying worked. She knew she had struck a chord when he growled and barreled at her, trying to knock her to the ground with sheer force.

  She let him get as close as possible before dodging at the last moment and coming behind his back to shove him forward, into the wall of a superstructure. His head smashed into it, and she held him tight, not letting him get away as she hit him again and again. It was a savage move, but he would do far worse to her if he ever had a chance to win this fight.

  His face a bloody mess, he slumped to the ground at her feet, taking short, wheezing breaths. Her fingers wrapped around his neck as she crouched at his side, turning him face up.

  "Chuck will kill you for this," he uttered hoarsely, struggling to breathe through the blood in his mouth. "You, your little sister, your friend, your boss? He'll have you all slaughtered for what you did here."

  "Good. Let him come. We've been waiting for a long time. Tell him, I know the truth about his men now, and they're just as pathetic as any other Beast in town. Tell him, I'll have his head before summer ends, and then I'll cut his thugs to pieces. He will pay for every one of our boys he killed, and he and Eugene will both be wiped off the face of the planet as if they never existed. Tell him, that's what we've been doing for decades before he showed up, and it will never change." She slapped his cheek before getting up to her feet, making him wince. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marco a few feet away, watching her.

  The Beast stared up at her with one blackened eye, genuine surprise in his look. He didn't voice his concern, but she could see that until the last moment, he had been sure she would kill him.

  "Oh, right." She got down on one knee, grabbing his right arm. "Almost forgot about this," she said with an apologetic smile.

  Her left hand gripped his elbow, and she twisted his arm out of the socket with one forceful motion. The Beast screamed, jerking away, but she grabbed his chin, making him look at her.

  "Your arm will never fully heal, and you will never kill again. Once you've delivered my message to Chuck, leave town and find another job. You're lucky to walk away from this. Never forget that."

  He shook his head free, and she let him be, standing up to grab her katana and join Marco by the edge. She peeked down the shaft as she stood at his side.

  "I'm glad the lights are off. It's nasty down there," Marco grumbled, gazing at the city lights.

  "Yeah, we need clean-up."

  "Peter will find out."

  "Eh," she waved her hand before strapping the sheath back on. "He'll know anyway. Rumor travels fast."

  "I found these downstairs."

  He handed her the big knife and her cell phone, but she only took the phone.

  "Keep it."

  Marco nodded without looking at her. She took in his beaten up, bloodied state and the shredded t-shirt, thinking that she probably looked the same after all the fighting, biting, and being drowned in a bucket.

  Her index finger hooked through a big hole in his shirt. "Why are you even still wearing this? You see now why I keep bugging you about the jacket."

  "I'm not gonna walk around topless like some Magic Mike."

  "Oh, so running around HQ naked is okay, but losing a t-shirt that's more blood than fabric - God forbid!"

  "That's different!"

  "How?"

  "The Headquarters is home."

  "A home with a hundred and fifty people in it."

  "So?" He turned to her, genuinely confused.

  "Whatever," she said. "You and your Bla- " she bit her tongue under his sharp stare and finished lamely, "bloody arguing."

  He shrugged it off, but not before he gave her a long, knowing look. His past was the only untouchable subject between them.

  "So, where to next?" he quickly filled the awkward silence. "Fox really needs some speaking to."

  "Oh, speaking is not what I'm gonna do to him."

  She glanced over her shoulder, finding the Beast gone. Must be holing up somewhere on the ground, she thought.

  "In fact, I don't even feel like explaining to him what he's done. He'll know when he see
s me. I'm just gonna find him and chop him into pieces, making sure he doesn't pass out too soon. Him and his friend both. He's gonna pay for this, that treacherous bastard. Wherever he goes, my wrath will follow him, and when- "

  "That's a really impressive speech and all, but can I just??" Marco pointed his thumb over his shoulder, stepping closer to the edge. "I really have to pee."

  Her puffed up figure deflated as the anger left her. "Oh, you're pissing on my parade already! Just go!"

  They got down to the ground together, and she watched him disappear behind a corner.

  "I'll just take off his head first chance I get. Fox isn't worth wasting time on," she grumbled. "Maybe chase him for a bit?"

  "I could really use a shower and a new t-shirt before we go anywhere else," Marco called out from the shadows.

  "And I don't mind swinging by McD's again," she replied. "Those fries are all I can think about."

  "Why? It's not like we can go in."

  "There are tables outside. I stole a Happy Meal before, I can do it again."

  "You stole from a child??" He appeared at the corner, fastening his belt.

  "I left 'em money!" She shifted uncomfortably under his judging stare. "I couldn't go in all Kill Bill and shit."

  "You're a terrible, terrible person." He started walking away from the warehouse, shaking his head. "We're not going to McD's. Besides, I've got this." He rummaged in the back pocket of his pants, producing a Snickers bar that looked like it had been through World War II.

  She watched him unwrap it and take a huge bite, then lick his chocolate-smeared fingers. Her stomach turned. "Thanks. I don't think I'm hungry anymore. Let's just go home."

  It took them less than fifteen